ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Wednesday, November 2nd, the 2022 women's soccer All-CCAA teams were announced, with four Sonoma State women's soccer players highlighting the conference awards and an additional three players earning honorable mention status. Senior center back Julia Pritchard earned CCAA Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, and her teammate, Lexi Zandonella-Arasa, was voted Offensive Player of the Year and would capture her second straight All-CCAA First Team selection. 

Julia Pritchard once again proved to be one of the most consistent forces in the CCAA. She led one of the most dominant units in the conference en route to earning CCAA Defensive Player of the Year honors for a second straight season and All-CCAA honors for the third consecutive year. Sonoma State allowed just 0.82 goals per match and gave up one goal or less in 14 of 17 contests. Her goal against Cal State Monterey Bay would prove to be a game-winner. Pritchard also added two goals and four assists in her senior campaign. 

Sophomore midfielder Lexi Zandonella-Arasa led the CCAA in nearly every offensive category as she had a career year in just her second season with the program. Her 13 goals were three more than second place, and she tied for the league lead in assists with nine (also three more than second place). The Concord native posted a hat-trick in the second game of the season, put together a six-game stretch in which she scored every match, and capped it off with a two-goal performance against Stanislaus State. She also matched the CCAA record with a goal in six consecutive matches earlier this season. Zandonella-Arasa also had six matches where she had both a goal and an assist. This is the second consecutive All-CCAA first team selection for Zandonella-Arasa, who finished the regular season ranked 11th in NCAA Division II with 2.06 points per game.

Zandonella-Arasa and Pritchard became the first players to sweep the offensive and defensive conference awards in program history and Pritchard became the first player in program history to win back-to-back conference awards as 2-time Defensive Player of the Year. Zandonella-Arasa also set a new program record for goals by a sophomore with 13, easily breaking the previous record of 10 goals held by Stacy Ball back in 1989. 

The awards didn't stop there as freshman phenom Annette Sotelo stepped into a starting role this season and would earn Freshman of the Year honors. In just her second weekend of collegiate competition, the San Marcos native posted two goals against Academy of Art and registered the game-winner over nationally ranked Western Washington. Sotelo captured CCAA/Pixellot Offensive Player of the Week honors that week and gave the Seawolves their first CCAA Freshman of the Year since 2008. Sotelo finished the regular season with seven goals, tied for second most by a freshman in program history. 

Sophomore Malia Falk would be the third Sonoma State women's soccer player to highlight the All-CCAA First Team, as she was also named to her second straight all-conference first team dating back to her freshman campaign in 2021. The second year forward out of Palm Desert would very quietly have a solid year, recording four goals and five assists, good for second most on the team. Falk continues to show her versatility as a relentless worker and a terrific teammate. She has made 15 starts on the season and tallied over 1200 minutes played as she adds a second all-conference selection to her already impressive resume. 

Three more Seawolves would earn honorable mention accolades including Julia Betti, Ashley Frye, and Krissy Keller. Sophomore midfielder Julia Betti was one of the several staples for this Seawolves squad as she stands as one of just three players to play and start in all 17 games this season. Betti was able to finish with two assists on the year and has recorded 1,457 minutes played, good for second most on the team. The honorable mention recognition would go down as her first all-conference selection of her career.  

Another defender for Sonoma State, Ashley Frye, would earn her first all-conference selection with a career season. Frye belongs to that group of three players to start and play in all 17 games this season and has also shown her versatility as an attacking defender, recording two goals and an assist. Rounding out the all-conference selections for SSU is senior center back Krissy Keller. Keller and Pritchard represented one of the most dominant defensive pairs in the conference all season long. Keller records her second honorable mention accolade of her career as she was named to an all-conference honorable mention last season. Despite fighting through injury earlier in the season, Keller still made 14 starts, tallying over 1200 minutes played and recording a goal and an assist. 

To not be forgotten, the final all-conference award brought home by the Seawolves was the 2022 CCAA Coach of the Year, won by SSU alum and 13 year head coach Emiria Salzmann. Salzmann has brought nothing but success to the women's soccer program since taking over in 2011. In her 12 seasons of action, she has made 8 NCAA Tournament appearances and secured 4 CCAA League titles, including the team's third straight this season, dating back to the 2019 season. Salzmann and her squad hold a record of 11-3-3 and are currently ranked 25th in the nation. They will look to pursue that illustrious CCAA Tournament championship this weekend as they take on Chico State in the semifinals this Friday, at 11:30 AM. Sonoma State will play tournament host this year so the Seawolves will get to play in front of a home crowd this Friday as they look to to capture the program's first conference tournament championship. 

Congratulations to all seven Sonoma State women's soccer players on their all-conference recognition and to head coach Emiria Salzmann for earning her third coach of the year award and first since 2015. Live stats, ticket information, and game times can all be found at sonomaseawolves.com for their semifinal match against Chico State this Friday. Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation